There is a saying — “Mourning is like a cold; you just need to let it run its course…”
In your mind’s eye, run through the bereft in your address book. Perhaps the number one inclusion is yourself, still trying to find your sea legs after the body blow of deep loss. However long or short your list— this is the group you want to take to see Patrick Bringley’s adaptation of his memoir of the same name.
For ninety minutes we have pulled up an armchair to listen to a thoughtful man—a brother, a son, and later a father— tell his story of how he processed his grief upon the loss of his brother. Bringley found his sea legs, so to speak, in the sturdy thick-souled shoes issued to him per the museum guard union requirements. He had a uniform too, and learned the tricks of how to stretch in place, or grab a few winks in the guards’ locker room.
All The Beauty in the World is set in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The rays of light that first pierce Bringley’s grief coma come from the paintbrushes and clay of the masters. He has quit his job at The New Yorker, and joined the internationally-born cadre of guards at The Met. On his rotations, he marvels at the Gods of all religions. He gets to know the vivid looks and expressions of portraits created with crushed insects, egg yolks and such before the time of paints in a jar or bottle. He knows where the armor is that can keep young children occupied. On his rotations, he sees many of the world’s art treasures again and again. He takes us to revisit the world’s first landscape painting—Pieter Bruegel’s The Harvesters— and let’s us share in his read of it—- the beauty of daily life is to keep on keeping on.
We meet a host of characters as we travel with Bringley on his personal journey. There is the young man who climbed into the Virgin’s lap, unaware that this was verboten. There is the fellow guard who outlived an assassination attempt in his prior life as a banker in Togo. And most of us who have been to The Met will smile at recognition of ourselves— asking for directions to the restroom, and having to ask just about every guard along the path for clarification on when and where to turn.
As Bringley’s tale unfolds the backdrop scenery are the very grand art works he references. They are presented as triptychs for the most part, with zoom ins on a corner and then a corner of a corner. Bringley’s story unfolds in a similar way, zooming in and out. We all get it— how his newborn’s diapers provides the smelling salts that help give the final knockout blow to his grief.
All The Beauty In The World will especially resonate with lovers of art and recovering mourners both.
RECOMMENDED
WHEN:
March 27, 2025 - May 25, 2025
WHERE:
The Daryl Roth Theatre
101 E 15th St 4th floor
New York, NY
CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM:
Written and performed by Patrick Bringley
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Scenic Design by Dominic Dromgoole
Lighting Design by Abigail Hoke-Brady
Projection Design by Austin Switser
Sound Design by Caleb Garner
General Management by Groundswell Theatricals Inc.
Image courtesys of All The Beauty In The World
About the Author: Amy Munice
Amy Munice is Editor-in-Chief and Co-Publisher of Picture This Post. She covers books, dance, film, theater, music, museums and travel. Prior to founding Picture This Post, Amy was a freelance writer and global PR specialist for decades—writing and ghostwriting thousands of articles and promotional communications on a wide range of technical and not-so-technical topics.
